Kick Drum Heart


Oh hot damn

My jam was on during homecoming, and after. I can barely remember it all; the evening flew by in a hazy blur of neon and glowsticks and thumping heavy bass.

The afterparty at my house was fun, albeit extremely dirty, conversation-wise, and a little tense. Everyone was so hyped up.

For all it was an unusual crew, the chemistry really caught, though. There are instances in a social situation where the atmosphere sometimes lags or starts charging with unpleasantry or awkwardness. That didn’t happen. I halfway expected it to, but I guess the friends who came were just so mentally flexible and comfortable that it didn’t have to. Bobby, Colyn, Grubbs, and Dave don’t always hang out with me; Chelsea and Tara and Sam are used to Post, Trank, and Taylor and vice versa; Jimmy, Jill, Aaron, Sarah, Cayleigh and Samuelson are all underclassmen. Harley doesn’t even go to Gowanda. Still, I was prepared to ask everyone to play nice. But aside from eating the entirety of the ninety dollars worth of food and forgetting to put the toilet seat back down, it was a blast and ran really smoothly.

For a last homecoming, I was satisfied. And it really enlightened me, that I soooo need to relax. It was fun to have the time to hang out with friends. Being busy every waking second haunts me. I can’t do it. I think of Caitlin, who was confused when I told her about everything I’ve been up to– she sits at home all the time. She’s used to peace, and doing what she wants. Okay, I know I could never just do nothing, but she honestly didn’t understand when I referred to being so busy. That shocked me.

It’s also nagging at me that Emily has so much free time. I’m not jealous or cranky about her: I’m peeved that this seems so much like a “sign.” She gave up something, and now she doesn’t miss it. She can relax or do something equally productive; that time got filled up and well-used. Seeing her cute little laptop was very like a cosmic sign (if I believed in them), just like Caitlin’s confusion.

So. When Heather ordered me last week to delete something from my schedule, I elbowed past my original doubtful thoughts and made my choice. Damn it, signs.

And see ya around, creative writing. If I have to go talk to Dr. Bob in person to get this solidified, I will. I’m fully prepared to give him the same spiel I gave Mr. Shannon: I’m too effing busy. Something’s gotta give, and I’ll be damned if it’s the musical or my college auditions and applications. So sorry, Ms. Giancola. I’m out.

I know I can write. I enjoyed the classwork, the brain poking. It kept my mind running. But this year I’m truthfully so busy that it pokes at itself all the time on its own. Story ideas can come when I get some free time. And it’s true, I’d love to write a novel. But that doesn’t change the fact that writing is my backup plan and singing will be my career.

So there you have it: in all likelihood I will have freed up forty minutes every other day to do what I need or want. Voila, yippie skippie. Hopefully it will make a difference, but if it doesn’t… band is next on my list. XD



Missing, my heart

I’ve decided I miss summer.

I miss the light-hearted freedom that accompanies every inhalation.

I miss the endless, constant green. I miss the breezes that seem to blow cool air straight from the beach (and not the part with dead fish sweating on the shoreline, either).

I miss the time when the Avett Brothers could make me happy with one light stroke of a pick across nickel wire.

I miss talking to people instead of hearing talk about them. I miss sleep. I miss “Hello, Dolly” and Emily and Kevin and I freaking miss Mr. Lerew.

I miss the changes I thought were going to happen that didn’t. I miss the opportunities I’ve wasted so far because I can’t function on so little sleep and am not focused.

I miss the comfort I once had, that placated the cynicism that keeps trying to corrode my mind. I miss the soothing calm of peace. I miss early mornings filled with sunrise and the laid-back mindset that accompanies not having to do anything.

I miss these things and people so damn much my heart hurts. Just feels like it’s aching and throbbing and is just going to jump out of my chest. It’s so miserable, it wants out.

I miss summer.



Glittering snow

Whoo, boy. Tonight was a blast. I had a few people over and we made three separate journeys into the freezing air to sled down my front hill and into the pasture. It’ll be a wonder if we don’t all have pneumonia tomorrow morning from all the abrupt temperature changes: we’d go from frost-bitten to overheated as soon as we stepped inside and were blasted with warmth from the woodstove.

All in all it was a good time. Even though it was so cold some of us bled.

Aaand maybe once or twice we narrowly avoided dead by beheading via tree. Or trailer. Or fence.

Next time, we’ll hopefully go sledding at Emily’s with two toboggans, instead of trying to cram eight people onto one. Then we can race :) And drink hot cocoa and coffee, and make fun of a certain inability to open earmuffs.

I know it sounds unusual, and no, I don’t believe in predestination, but I feel like maybe the cancellation of the dance was a good thing. Maybe it happened for a reason. I don’t believe in the least that this entire get-together was planned out by some higher power (it was actually all planned by me), but maybe it was pre-arranged that everyone who came had the night free. Maybe the snowfall Friday was timed exactly. Who could know? But it seems mighty convenient that we had so much fun “coincidentally.”

It’s something to think about.

Whatever it was, this evening was better than any dance I’ve been to. :)